Simulated geyser



Nov. 25, 1952 R, WILSON ETAL SIMULATED GEYSER Filed May 7, 1948 Patented Nov. 25, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 10 Claims.

This invention relates to simulated geysers and has for its objects to provide a device which is a simulation of the geysers found in nature; which will operate without attention; which has no moving parts; and requires only heat as the sole source of energy to operate.

A geyser made according to this invention will cause a spray or jet of water and steam to rise a substantial distance in the air for a short time, then subside and rest for another period, to be followed by the spray or jet, and so on. This cycle of intermittent activity is an accurate simulation of a natural geyser, and the device may be used to explain or demonstrate the principles which underlie said geysers. v

In the drawings, which are somewhat diagrammatic,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the complete device, and

Fig. 2 is a view taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

The essential working parts consist of a fluid circuit including a basin or water storage pan 3, a conduit 4 extending downward therefrom, a cooling or ballast coil 5, a conduit 6 extending upward therefrom, a heating element I, a conduit 8 extending upward therefrom, a trap or expansion chamber 9, and a conduit I extending from the bottom thereof to the jet or orifice II.

The device is supported on a frame comprising legs I2I2, a lower cross-structure I3 on which coil 5 rests, a central cross-structure I 4 on which the heating element 1 rests, and an upper platform IS on which the basin 3 is supported.

The basin 3 has a flat bottom I6 to rest on platform I5, and sides H, the top being open.

Extending downward from the basin 3 is the tube 4, which connects with the coil 5. This coil comprises many turns of tubing, providing substantial volume and length to the liquid circuit at this region. In one embodiment, we have found 50 feet of in. copper tubing to be satisfactory. The length also provides substantial resistance to flow. The opposite end of the coil continues up- Ward as conduit 6 to heater 1.

This heater I is here shown as a tank I8 communicating at the bottom thereof with conduit 6 and at the top with conduit 3. resistance wire I9 surrounds the tank I8 so that it is electrically insulated therefrom, by means of ceramic saddles 20, for example, but is in good heat transfer relation thereto. Surrounding the wire I9 is an insulating jacket 2!. Electrically connected to the wire I9 is a double conductor 22, which is connected through rheostat 23 to An electric electric supply cable 24. This provides an electric heating means at this region, but it is obvious that other heating means such as a gas burner, oil burner, etc, may be employed as is well known in the art.

The trap 9 consists of a vertical elongated chamber 25. The conduit 8 extending upward from the heater 1 enters the chamber 25 near the top 26 thereof. The conduit It begins inside and near the bottom of the chamber 25, extends upward through the top 26, through the bottom I6 of the basin 3 to the nozzle or orifice I I.

The entire liquid circuit is initially filled with liquid, either manually with a bucket or by means of a permanently connected liquid source 21 controlled by valve 28.

The operation is as follows. When the electricity is turned on, the liquid in heater 1 is heated and finally boiled. The resulting expansion causes the liquid to fiow both ways, the first path upward into conduit 8, trap 9 and nozzle II, the second path downward into conduit 6, coil 5, and upward through conduit 4. However, due to the long length of the circuit segment including coil 5, the frictional and inertia resistance to flow therein is much greater than the circuit segment including the conduits 8 and I0 and trap 9. Since the steam pressure builds up gradually there is a mild flow through the orifice or nozzle II at the beginning. As the steam rises through conduit 8, the pressure resisting its fiow becomes progressively smaller, while the steam pressure itself rises, which makes the jet or spray issuing from nozzle II rise higher and higher. Then the steam fills the chamber 25 forcing the water therein out of conduit II] and through the nozzle. When the last water leaves the trap 9, the pressure of the water in conduit It] reduces rapidly which permits the steam, which is now at its maximum pressure, to eject the water from conduit ID and nozzle II with great violence. When all the water is driven from the nozzle, the steam itself gushes therefrom, which is the climax to the display. There is considerable duration to the steam flow, due to the volume of the chamber 26. While all of this has been going on, the water has been slowly moving from conduit 6 into coil 5, through conduit 4 and into basin 3. When the steam has finally expanded so that its pressure drops to atmospheric, the pressure in conduit 4 is then greater than in conduit 6, heater 1, etc. Hence the flow of water reverses and fills up all of the spaces formerly occupied by steam. When finally filled, the jet is quiescent. When the heater I again boils the 3 water, th cycle will repeat itself. The water issuing from the nozzle II falls back into the basin with little loss. During the active portion of the cycle the steam pressure backs up the water in the ballast coil 5 only a portion of its length.

The basin 3 may be in the form of a model of the geological structure in; which natural geysers are usually found, while the operating parts are concealed. In this event the complete simulation of a geyser, such as Old Faithful, will be extremely realistic and entertaining. The concealing means, such as panels, etc., may be removable to demonstrate to students how the device operates.

Having thus described our device, we claim:

1. A simulated geyser comprising a conduit terminating in a discharge orifice at one end, a liquid storage pan connected to the other end thereof, a liquid chamber in said conduit, means associated with said chamber to transform liquid therein to a gas, said conduit including a fluid ballast section between said pan and said chamber and having all stationary parts, said ballast section offering substantial resistance to rapid fluid flow in a direction away from said chamber, said storage pan being above said chamber.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 in which said ballast section comprises a tube of consid- 1 erable length and has considerable resistance to fluid flow therein.

3. A simulated geyser comprising a discharge conduit terminating in a discharge orifice at one end, a liquid chamber at the other end of said conduit, means associated with said chamber to transform liquid therein to a gas, a vertically extending chamber in said discharge conduit, the conduit section communicating with said liquid chamber entering the upper portion of said vertically extending chamber and the conduit section terminating in said discharge orifice originating near the bottom of said vertically extending chamber, a liquid storage pan, a fluid ballast conduit connecting said pan to said liquid chamber, said ballast conduit having all stationary parts and offering substantial resistance to rapid fluid flow in a direction away from said chamber.

4. The structure of claim 3 in which said ballast section comprises a sinuous tube of considerable length.

5. A simulated geyser comprising a discharge conduit terminating in a discharge orifice at one end, a region adjacent the other end of said conduit having means cooperating therewith to transform the liquid therein to a gas, and a fluid ballast conduit having substantially all stationary parts and offering substantial resistance to flow in a direction away from said region, one end of such ballast conduit being in communication with said region and the other end in communication with a source of supply of liquid.

6. .A simulated geyser according to claim 5 in which said discharge conduit section includes a part having a substantial volume, equal to the volume of liquid desired to be ejected from said discharge orifice.

7. A simulated geyser comprising a liquid storage pan, a discharge conduit terminating in a discharge orifice discharging above the liquid level of said pan, a region of said conduit having means cooperating therewith to transform the liquid therein to a gas, a fluid ballast conduit having all stationary parts, and offering substantial resistance to flow in a direction away from said region, one end of such ballast conduit being in communication with said region, the other end being in communication with said pan.

8. A simulated geyser according to claim 7 in which said discharge conduit section includes a chamber having a substantial volume equal to the volume of liquid desired to be ejected from said discharge orifice.

9. A simulated geyser according to claim 6 in which said ballast conduit contains a relatively long sinuous section, whereby said resistance to flow is created by friction of liquid with the walls of said conduit.

10. A simulated geyser according to claim 6 wherein the region for transforming the liquid to a gas comprises a heating chamber.

JAMES R. WILSON. IRA C. LANE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,066,565 Woodward et al July 8, 1913 1,280,784 Luckiesh Oct. 8, i918 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 287,244 Great Britain Mar. 19, 1928 

